Mobius: Legends-Revised
by Hokuto Ulrik
Summary: After the Mobius Stargate Command detects a signal on the edge of the Mobius system, Kerra and her friends take the USS Serenity to investigate. What awaits Kerra in the dark, frozen corridors of the Forward Unto Dawn?
1. Chapter 1

_**Mobius Legends**_

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sega of America, Team Sonic, MGM nor anything else associated with any franchise mentioned within. The only thing that I own is the name Kerra. It is mine and if anyone steals it I will not hesitate to get creative on the torture. Also I do not own the original idea for the Mjolnir armor, which belongs to Microsoft and Bungie. That's how Kerra got the idea for her own version of it.

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Signal**

It's been a little over three years since I finally returned home to Mobius and staved off a Goa'uld invasion and eliminated this world's most feared person, Dr. Robotnik. I figured that once everything had been set up for the Alpha site here on Mobius I would be able to let someone else run the command and spend my days either in the lab, off world helping different SG teams, or just relaxing with my friends, reliving the glory days.

When I got the call about a mysterious signal being picked up on the edge of the system last week, I was relaxing with my friends Sally and Cream on the patio of a hotel on the Emerald Coast. I absolutely loved the area around the Emerald Coast. It was sunny and warm almost all year long, the kinda of weather that made me pull out the old Tornado I and fly for as long as the fuel lasted.

However on this day we were lounging by the pool, soaking up some sun.

 _One week earlier_

"This was a good idea." Cream said as she stretched out on her lounge chair, her one piece swimsuit drawing Kerra's eye.

' _Must not ogle my friends. Especially ones that are in a relationship.'_ Kerra thought to herself before replying out loud. "Glad I suggested it?"

"Oh, I know I am." Sally replied from Kerra's other side. "I seriously needed a break from the council's BS."

Kerra chuckled at her royal friend.

"One would have figured that the council would keep the Royal family out of things."

"You would think so, but the new council always wants our approval." Sally replied. She was about to continue when faint music was heard.

Kerra reached into her bag next to her chair, pulling out her phone. When she did, the song ' _Reclaimer'_ was able to be heard. Looking at the caller id, she sighed.

"This had better really important Sam." Kerra said, answering the call.

" _It is Kerra. We've picked up a strange signal coming from the edge of the system. We're working on cleaning it up, but we should send out a ship to check it out."_ Sam replied

"Have you been able to get any info from the signal?" Kerra asked.

" _Only what seems to be the name of a ship."_ Sam said.

"What's the name?"

" _Forward Unto Dawn. Does that ring any bells with you?"_ Sam asked.

"I have heard it before. If I'm right, we have to get out there. Prep the _Serenity_ and get my suit prepped with the EVA variant." Kerra said.

" _Are you sure? You always cancel your leave when something comes up. Stay there we can handle it."_ Sam replied.

"No, this one I have to go on. We'll be back in a couple of hours. Plot out how long it will take to get there with the sub-light engines at maximum." Kerra said as she grabbed her bag and rose from her chair.

" _Understood. We'll have everything prepped."_ Sam said as she hung up.

Kerra sighed as she close her phone. "I'm really sorry girls. I was hoping that I could take a vacation without a crisis popping up." She said as she turned to her friends with an apologetic look on her face.

"It's alright, these things happen to us for some reason. We seem to just attract excitement." Sally replied as she got up to go back to their rooms so they could pack for the flight home.

"Yeah, I just wish I could live the quiet live for at least a little while." Kerra said with exasperation.

"Me too. So what's the big to do this time?" Sally inquired.

"Our listening posts picked up a signal. So far the only thing that they can get out of it is the name _Forward Unto Dawn_." Kerra said as the elevator rose.

"So why is it such a big deal that you have to go?" Cream asked as the elevator reached their floor.

"If I'm right, that ship contains someone that we want on our side." Kerra said as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Who?" Sally asked.

"A kindred spirit and one lucky son of a bitch if he's still alive." Kerra said as she started to get changed.

Half an hour later the trio was checked out of the hotel and flying back to the Alpha Site. Once they were airborne, Kerra converted the Tornado to the Cyclone, using its turbine motor to shave time off of the flight.

Soon they were on the ground and the Tornado was parked in its hanger. Kerra and the girls deposited their bags in the house and took the elevator to what was once the berth of the _Blue Typhoon_ , the flying fortress that Kerra had built after their Chaos Control adventure. Since her return it was converted into a bunker that housed the Mobius Stargate and everything associated with the command.

Entering the control room Kerra quickly spotted a woman with long blonde hair that fell to about her shoulder blades.

"Sam how comes the work on the signal?" Kerra asked as she approached the woman.

"We just finished cleaning it up. It was broadcasted on a relatively low power setting so it degraded with the range." Sam explained

"Alright then play it." Kerra replied.

Sam nodded and hit play on the console.

A woman's voice came through the speakers in the control room:

" _"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201, Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code: Victor Zero Five dash Three dash Sierra Zero One One Seven."_ She explained before the message started to loop.

"What do you make of it?" Sam asked.

"I say we need to get out there ASAP and rescue those two." Kerra said.

"I figured that you would say something like that. _Serenity_ transport four to the bridge." Sam said as she keyed a radio mike.

Kerra, Sally, Cream, and Sam were suddenly enveloped in a blinding white light before being transported to the bridge of the battle cruiser _Serenity._

Kerra immediately went to the command chair and took a seat.

"Major, get us to the location of the signal we picked up. Get every bit of power from the sub-light engines." She said to the major manning the helm.

"Yes ma'am. Though shouldn't we make a hyperspace jump to get us closer?" She asked as she pushed the engines to the maximum output.

"We could, but doing an intra-system jump like that is tricky. More so since our target is extremely close to a planet." Kerra said as she indicated the position on the holo-map on the bridge. "There is a good likelihood that if we were to jump that we would come out in the middle of that gas giant." She added indicating the massive planet on the map as well.

"Understood. ETA to position is eighteen hours." The major replied as she plotted their course.

"Good. I'll be in my quarters. Come and get me when we are about seven hours out." Kerra said as she headed out of the bridge.

Sally and Cream caught up to the vixen as she headed to the quarters area of the ship.

"Seven hours?" Cream asked.

Kerra nodded. "I need time to be able to prep my suit and be ready to get over to the other ship once we are in position."

The other two women nodded as they bid each other goodnight and headed into their quarters.

 _Seven hours later_

Kerra was awoken to the feeling of the ship decelerating. She got out of bed, quickly got dressed, ran a brush through her shoulder length hair which she pulled into a ponytail. She quietly left her quarters and headed for the bridge.

"I take it that we're there?" Kerra asked as she entered the bridge.

"Yes ma'am. I'll put it up on the monitors for you." The major that was in charge of the watch replied.

The screens came to life and showed a massive hulk of what appeared to be the stern section of a ship that would be about the tonnage of the _Serenity_ if it was in one piece. The edges of the hull and exposed superstructure looked as if someone had taken a giant plasma cutter and split the ship in half.

"Have you tried to raise whoever sent the signal out?" Kerra asked.

"Yes ma'am but there hasn't been any response. What are you orders?" The major asked.

"Get into a position that puts one of the docking bays in close proximity to the open edge of the ship. I'm going to get my EVA variant armor on and head over there. I'll have six hours of air to try and find anyone on board." Kerra said as she turned to head to her armory.

 _Lower deck of Serenity, dubbed the SPARTAN Armory_

Kerra entered what had become known as the SPARTAN Armory. It had gained its name from the similarity of her armor to that of the Master Chief and later the members of NOBLE team from the HALO video games. Other than the modifications to the armor for her unique physiology, the armor look identical to the MJOLNIR armor worm by the SPARTAN-IIs and the SPARTAN-IIIs of NOBLE.

Ordinarily, Kerra needed a team of techs and specialists to don her armor. However she stole an idea from Hollywood to speed up the process and prevent any fitting mistakes that might occur to human error. She built the platform that was used by Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies. Within ten minutes she was encased in the extra vehicular activity armor variant which contained maneuvering thrusters that channeled her constant flow of chaos energy to provide the minute bursts of energy to turn and move in the vacuum of space. It also contained a booster pack the allowed her to quickly move in a straight line towards a target. In addition to various harden cases on her legs and chest to carry a variety of tools her helmet, unlike her standard helmet which had places for her ears to rest in without them being pressed against her skull that contained small speakers for her radio and external mics, the helmet was made up primarily of a hardened gold visor that also contained a heads up display. It also afforded her a wide area of view, something that is absolutely necessary when on a spacewalk of any kind.

Kerra then proceeded to a freight elevator that took her to one of the many docking bays that had been cleared of all personnel. Once she entered the bay, she walked to a console and entered the commands to de-pressurize the bay. Five minutes later, when the monitor read zero atmosphere, Kerra entered the command to open the bay doors.

As the doors slid open, Kerra made her way to it. Once she made it to the edge, she saw the many passageways of the ship laid bare to the cold vacuum of space. Speaking into her mike, she asked, "Is there any energy being emitted from the ship besides the reactor room?"

The reply came a few moments later from Sam. "There's an energy signature that is several decks away from the reactor. I'll set a nav marker for you to follow."

"Understood." Kerra replied as a dot appeared on her HUD with a distance measurement. "I've got the marker. I'm heading out."

With that, Kerra step out of the bay and the artificial gravity field of the ship. Using her maneuvering thrusters to position herself, she fired her booster pack's thrusters in a short two second burst, sending her towards the passageway that would provide the shortest route to the beacon.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Mobius Legends**_

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sega of America, Team Sonic, MGM nor anything else associated with any franchise mentioned within. The only thing that I own is the name Kerra. It is mine and if anyone steals it I will not hesitate to get creative on the torture. Also I do not own the original idea for the Mjolnir armor, which belongs to Microsoft and Bungie. That's how Kerra got the idea for her own version of it.

 **Chapter 2**

 _ **Forward Unto Dawn**_

Kerra drifted towards the derelict using her maneuvering thrusters to keep herself on course to the passageway. Her eyes played over the shattered hull looking for danger. Despite the defeat of the Goa'uld, she was still wary about the more minor Goa'uld that had managed to avoid both the SGC and the free Jaffa. Though the ship was a total loss, there was still probably a wealth of advanced technology on board.

She floated into the proper corridor, and began to use the many railings and hatchways to pull herself towards her target. Using a schematic that was created from scans of the ship she was relatively certain that she was heading to what was more than likely the cryo bay of the ship.

As she neared the nav marker that Sam had set, she noticed a familiar bluish glow at the end of the corridor. ' _It seems that the ship's AI is still functional. Let's hope that her friend is alive as well.'_ The vixen thought as she carefully maneuvered towards the room.

When Kerra came to the last corner before she would be in line of sight, she paused and removed an assault rifle from its mounting on her back. After checking to make sure it was functional from the extreme temperatures and radiation, she pulled herself left handed around the corner and towards the room.

The AI noticed her. "So I take it that you're our rescue?" She asked the vixen.

"Yes, my name is Colonel Kerra Prower. I'm with the United States Air Force and am currently in command of the base on the planet Mobius, the system of which you are currently adrift in. I figured that I should come and attempt a rescue anyone who might possibly be alive." Kerra replied as she looked around the bay, noticing that one of the cryo pods was open, and its occupant was missing.

Her movements sluggish due to the lack of gravity, she attempted to turn to make sure the missing crewman wasn't about to shoot her in the back. However she was met with a dull thunk on the back of her helmet.

"I'm going to assume that's your friend with the gun to my head." Kerra said with a sigh to the AI.

"You'd be right. He's a little protective because of what we have gone through in the past few years."

A male voice then broke in. "Can you really blame me? I thought that we'd lost you to the Gravemind."

"The Gravemind? What the hell is that?" Kerra asked. "Oh, and can you kindly remove the gun from the back of my head? It's kinda annoying unless you plan on shooting me."

"The Gravemind was the collective intelligence gathered by a parasitic race of aliens known simply as the Flood due to their ability to swarm over a planet like a river that has swelled its banks." The AI replied as the male lowered his weapon.

"The Flood was an intimidating enemy. There were several times that I almost didn't survive." The male said as he attached his weapon to his back.

"I can imagine. We had a few issues with a parasitical alien race of our own. They were just a little more selective than the Flood sound. They only took certain people as hosts and wanted to be worshipped as gods." Kerra said, holding onto a beam to keep her stable.

"Had?" The male asked.

"Well, we fought them for several years. Mostly we got lucky by making friends in the right places. That and their soldiers realized that they were false gods and rebelled. That was the final blow to their power base." Kerra explained giving a quick synopsis of the war with the Goa'uld. "Now, if you're done posturing, can we go to my ship? I know that I've got enough air for six hours, but you, I'm not so sure." She said turning her head towards the male.

"You're right. I don't have much breathable air left. Let me get Cortana and we'll leave." The man said as he floated to the holo tank where he removed a data card which he then slotted into the back of his helmet. He shivered slightly at the feeling of cool mercury sliding down his spine as the AI linked with his armor and subconscious. "Let's go." He said to the woman as she turned to lead them to safety.

 _Half an hour earlier_

Cortana was monitoring radio chatter in the region of space they were in. Their communication arrays were damaged so all she could do was listen to the chatter. Another part of her consciousness monitored her charge. She looked towards the only cryo chamber in use at the moment. Inside was a figure wearing battle damaged power armor. She also used what was left of the ship's sensors to monitor for approaching ships. Their range was severely limited when compared to when the _Dawn_ was in one piece but it was better than doing nothing.

As she listened to the radio chatter, several minutes old, she could hear someone trying to hail her. Sadly the only thing she could do was listen. With no way to send a message aside from the only distress beacon she had already dropped when they appeared in the system, she could not let them know their status.

She then did the only thing she was able to do. Wake up her charge.

Twenty minutes later the cryo pod opened and the figure began to stir.

"Chief can you hear me?" She asked.

"Yeah. I take it that you need me for something." The Chief responded as he pulled himself out of the pod and grabbed his weapon.

"Yes. There is a ship approaching our position. I believe that they are going to attempt a rescue. Unfortunately I am not able to tell who they are or where they are from. I'd recommend that you hide somewhere and allow me to ascertain the situation." Cortana replied as the ship's limited sensors picked up a ship of considerable tonnage approaching.

"Are you sure?" The Chief asked the AI.

"Yes, the ship that's currently moving into station keeping with us is about the size of the Dawn was until the portal collapsed. I'm not picking up any weapons emissions, so they could be on the level."

"Alright, much as I don't like this idea, I'll go along with it." The Chief said as he drifted into a darkened passageway of the shattered frigate.

Cortana watched him drift off as her sensors picked up an object moving from the supposed rescue ship towards the frigate.

' _A weapon? No, there are life signs, but it's too small to be a drop ship.'_ Cortana thought as the object finally entered a passageway that lead directly to the cryo bay.

"Chief, don't shoot whoever it is that's floating our way. They are probably our rescue." She told the Chief over a secure single beam comm.

A single click of a mike was heard by the AI in response.

A few moments later an armored figure floated into the light that Cortana put off when she manifested as a hologram.

"So I take it that you're our rescue?" Cortana asked after quickly hacking her comm channels.

"Yes, my name is Colonel Kerra Prower. I'm with the United States Air Force and am currently in command of the base on the planet Mobius, the system of which you are currently adrift in. I figured that I should come and attempt a rescue anyone who might possibly be alive." The figure answered as she swept the area with her rifle.

The woman seemed to notice the open cryo bay, and began to turn around to look for the missing soldier, but was met with an assault rifle tapping the back of her helmet.

"I'm going to assume that's your friend with the gun to my head." The woman said to the AI with a sigh.

"You'd be right. He's a little protective because of what we have gone through in the past few years." Cortana replied with a smile.

"Can you really blame me? I thought that we'd lost you to the Gravemind." John asked as he covered the woman.

"The Gravemind? What the hell is that?" The woman asked. "Oh, and can you kindly remove the gun from the back of my head? It's kinda annoying unless you plan on shooting me."

"The Gravemind was the collective intelligence gathered by a parasitic race of aliens known simply as the Flood due to their ability to swarm over a planet like a river that has swelled its banks." The AI replied as the Chief lowered his weapon.

"The Flood was an intimidating enemy. There were several times that I almost didn't survive." The Chief added as he attached his weapon to the magnetic holder on his back.

"I can imagine. We had a few issues with a parasitical alien race of our own. They were just a little more selective than the Flood sound. They only took certain people as hosts and wanted to be worshipped as gods." The woman, Kerra, said, holding onto a beam to keep her stable.

"Had?" John asked.

"Well, we fought them for several years. Mostly we got lucky by making friends in the right places. That and their soldiers realized that they were false gods and rebelled. That was the final blow to their power base." Kerra explained giving a quick synopsis of the war she had fought in. "Now, if you're done posturing, can we go to my ship? I know that I've got enough air for six hours, but you, I'm not so sure." She said turning her head towards the Chief.

"You're right. I don't have much breathable air left. Let me get Cortana and we'll leave." John said as he floated to the holo tank where he removed a data card which he then slotted into the back of his helmet. He shivered slightly at the feeling of cool mercury sliding down his spine as the AI linked with his armor and subconscious. "Let's go." He said to the woman as she turned to lead them to safety.

Kerra lead the way with her helmet lights towards the edge of the ship. As they reached it, John looked out and saw the _Serenity_.

"Impressive ship. Must do a lot of damage." He commented, his breathing labored, as Kerra hooked a tether to her belt.

Kerra caught this and decided to forgo the tether and floated behind the man. "It can. I'll give you the grand tour later. Right now we need to get you into a pressurized hull." She said as she wrapped her arms around the Chief's waist before keying her mike to the _Serenity._

" _Serenity_ I need you to kill the gravity in the hangar bay that I used to come over here and open the elevator doors so we can go to the armory as fast as possible. We have one human survivor and an AI Construct. The human has very little air left in his tanks. We're leaving the derelict now." She replied as she hit her booster pack.

The three shot out of the derelict and closed rapidly with the _Serenity_ 's open hangar bay. Kerra could see that the artificial gravity in the bay had been de-activated by the small bits of debris that were floating about. She could also see the freight elevator doors open and waiting.

The group quickly entered the bay and Kerra began channeling energy into her maneuvering thrusters to slow their approach to the elevator to avoid damaging it and injuring the pair.

They entered the elevator at a speed of less than one foot per second and both used their arms to stop their momentum. Kerra pushed towards the control panel and hit the button to take them up to the armory.

As the doors shut and the car rose, Kerra used the sensors on her suit to monitor the oxygen levels. Once they reached breathable levels she turned to the Chief. "Open your vents, there's breathable air." She told him doing the same.

She saw the man's chest rising as he gulped in the precious oxygen. "Feeling better?"

"Much. Thanks for the rescue." John said as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Not a problem. Give me a few minutes and I can have you out of that armor and in the infirmary so you can get checked out." Kerra replied.

"Thanks, I've been in this thing for what seems like a lifetime."

"I can imagine. I can fight without my armor, but there are times when I need to wear it. I enjoy the feeling of the breeze on my skin." Kerra said, being careful to hide the fact that she wasn't human.

The car reached the armory level of the ship. The pair stepped out and Kerra reached her hand out to John. "I'm gonna need to relieve you of your weapon. It's a security thing, I hope you don't mind."

John hesitated for a moment. He had been fighting for so long that he disliked being without a weapon. But this woman had rescued Cortana and himself from certain death on a cold and dark ship. He reached over his shoulder and handed her the rifle butt first and then drew his sidearm and handed that to her as well. "I don't like it too much, but you risked a lot to rescue us. So I'll trust you."

"Good. Now if you'll step onto that platform over there, we'll get you out of that armor." Kerra said as she secured the weapons in a coded vault.

John walked over to the indicated platform and stood in the center of it. "Right here?" He asked.

"Yup. Now if you'll face forward, we'll get started." Kerra said as she moved over to a console.

John did as requested and watched as several robotic arms rose from the floor. The arms moved into position and began to remove his armor in pieces.

A few moments later, the only parts of his armor that he was wearing were his helmet and his boots. Removing the helmet, he revealed a pale face with a few freckles standing out in dark contrast to his skin and brilliant, close cropped red hair. It looked as though he had lived in a deep cavern for several years.

"Why'd you leave the helmet and boots?" He questioned as he stepped off the platform.

"The boots, so you don't cut your feet up on any loose edges that might have cropped up in the decking, and the helmet because I figured that you would want to hang onto your Ai's data crystal." Kerra replied as she entered a few commands and stepped onto the platform herself.

John nodded and accepted the explanation and watched as his rescuer's armor being removed.

His eyes widened and he nearly dropped his helmet as the woman's thruster pack was removed revealing a pair of very non-human appendages.

"You-you're not human." John said with shock evident in his voice.

"Nope." Kerra replied looking over her shoulder as her bulbous EVA helmet was removed. "I'm what is called a Mobian. My race evolved after the humans that used to occupy my world pissed of an advanced alien race that had a weapon known as a 'gene-bomb' that they used on my planet. It caused most of the humans to go back a few rungs on the evolutionary ladder and had the unintended consequence of speeding up the evolution of the animal life, resulting in my species, _Mobosapien._ We're normally a very peaceful people, but I spent over a decade on another world, living hidden amongst the human population so I've picked up a few of your kind's more charming quirks." Kerra replied stepping off the platform, swishing her twin tails around to loosen them up.

"Sounds like your world is an interesting place. The only alien races that we ever ran across were overtly hostile." John replied as the two headed to the infirmary.

"We ran into a couple of those. But they weren't invincible. It just took a few years to beat them." Kerra said as they walked.

A tall blonde woman with shoulder length hair came around a corner. "So how's our guest?" She asked the vixen.

"He seems to be okay, but we're headed to the infirmary just to make sure. You wanna join us Sam?" Kerra replied.

"Sure. I'm Colonel Samantha Carter by the way." Sam said as she reached out to the man.

To her surprise the man stiffened and snapped a crisp salute. "A pleasure to meet you ma'am. I'm Master Chief Petty Officer John Spartan-117."

Sam gained a stunned look on her face before returning the salute. "It's a pleasure to meet you Chief."

The three continued onto the infirmary, where the medical team began their examination of John. Sam turned to Kerra and said, "We need to talk."

 _A/N: Alright, there's chapter two. Please let me know what you think of the story so far. I'm always eager to get any kind of feedback._


	3. Chapter 3

Mobius Legends

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sega of America, Team Sonic, MGM nor anything else associated with any franchise mentioned within. The only thing that I own is the name Kerra. It is mine and if anyone steals it I will not hesitate to get creative on the torture. Also I do not own the original idea for the Mjolnir armor, which belongs to Microsoft and Bungie. That's how Kerra got the idea for her own version of it.

Chapter 3

Q&A Session with Cortana

Kerra and Sam walked through the winding corridors of the Mobius-class cruiser Serenity in silence. Kerra could tell that her former teammate was extremely annoyed with the vixen.

Sam finally entered the ship's briefing room and waited for Kerra to enter before closing and sealing the door shut.

"You do realize that sealing the door won't stop me Sam." The Chaos enhanced super soldier said wryly as she leaned against the room's table.

"I know, I just don't want anyone else coming in." The blonde scientist said as she slumped into a chair.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Kerra asked.

"You knew all along didn't you?" Sam asked.

"Knew what?"

"The origin of the signal, that ship, the freaking MASTER CHIEF!" Sam replied, practically shouting the last two words.

"Yes I did. From the moment you said Forward Unto Dawn, I knew exactly what we were dealing with. That's why I came back to the base as quick as I did. I figured, despite the fact that I'm not human, John would prefer to wake up looking at a fellow SPARTAN than someone who would go all nerdy on him. Plus the fact that his suit was almost out of air when I found him, I'd say it was a damn good thing that I came out here." Kerra answered calmly.

"So what are you going to do when we get back to the base? All of the personnel from Earth are going to go absolutely nuts when they see him." Sam queried.

"Actually, not as much as you might think. The creators of the games have been very careful to never show the face of the protagonist. The Master Chief, Noble Six, the Rookie; they're just faceless heroes. He'll be fine so long as he stays out of the armor." Kerra replied.

"So you're saying that he'll just blend in?"

"About as much as I would blend in. I mean come on, you saw him. Taller than me and built like a brick shit house? He's gonna stand out, but not as much as he would if he was wearing his armor. I'll be helping him adapt. But there are a few things that I'm gonna need to discuss with not only him, but Cortana as well. If I can get her away from him for a few hours." Kerra said pensively.

"How are you gonna do that?" Sam asked.

"The man has to sleep some time." Kerra replied as a knock sounded at the bulkhead.

Kerra stood and quickly opened the door. Outside stood one of the ship's medical personnel.

"Ma'am, your guest has fallen asleep in the infirmary. I would recommend leaving him there for the return trip to Mobius. His body showed signs of extreme fatigue. God knows when the last time it was he got some proper sleep." The major informed his commander.

"Thank you Major. I can understand the fatigue; cryo-sleep isn't the same as normal sleep. Did he say anything before he racked out?" Kerra replied.

"Yes, he wanted me to give you this." The man said as he handed the kitsune a green helmet bag. "He said you would be able to keep her safe. Not quite sure what he meant by that but he said you would understand."

"He was right. Dismissed." Kerra said, taking the bag.

The major nodded and headed back to monitor his charge.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

Kerra simply reached into the bag and removed the helmet of a MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor.

"Looks like he gave me what I needed." Kerra replied as she looked at the front of the helmet before saying, "You and I are going to spend some quality time together."

Sam looked on in confusion as the vixen put the helmet back into the bag and left the room. Though, she could have sworn she heard a voice come from the helmet.

With Cortana

Cortana was surprised to see that their rescuer was not only a SPARTAN, but also not human. However, at the moment she was extremely annoyed with the anthro.

First, she had to watch as she led the Chief through the winding corridors of the ship, Serenity, if she recalled correctly.

Then, she could do nothing but watch as they people in the infirmary began running all kinds of tests on John, before having him lay down on one of the beds and the putting his helmet into a bag.

Finally, the next thing she saw was that woman's face as she said, "You and I are going to spend some quality time together."

Cortana couldn't see what would be nice about spending time with this alien woman.

"Shit." Was all that the AI could get out before the helmet she was residing in was placed back in the bag.

Back to Kerra

Kerra whistled softly as she headed towards her constant refuge, her lab. Even on a ship like Serenity, the vixen couldn't stay out of the lab.

As she entered she hit the lights.

The overhead fluorescent lighting flickered for a moment as the power came on.

"Aura, ya there?" She asked as she headed for the large work bench in the center of the room.

Holo crystals in the ceiling warmed and the AI vixen Aura appeared.

"Always. So what do we have today, some new piece of Alteran tech?" Aura asked as her features brightened slightly in excitement.

"No, not today. I've got something even better." Kerra replied as she set the bag down on the workbench before removing the cover off of a holo tank standing near the station.

"Really? What could be better than Alteran tech?" The snowy white AI asked in rare confusion.

"How about tech that's from nearly five and a half centuries in the future?" Kerra asked as she removed John's helmet from the bag. "By the way could you seal the door and shut off the cameras in this room please. I don't want this on record."

"Certainly." Aura responded with what could only be described as a devilish grin as she did as instructed. Things that got in the brass's hair always got her excited.

Kerra was wearing a similar grin as she quickly pulled the memory matrix from the back of the helmet. She was about to insert it into the holo tank, when she brought the chip up to eye level.

"Aura, how much free memory space do we have on the hard drives in this room?" She asked the AI.

"We have nearly a million terabytes of free space. Why?" Aura responded while cocking her head to the side as she too looked at the chip.

"There's going to be a massive download of data here in a few minutes and I want to get as much as possible." Kerra replied before putting the chip in the pedestal.

The crystals in the pedestal warmed as the six inch tall, blue hologram of a woman in her mid twenties appeared and looked around the room.

"Great, now there are two of you." The hologram said shaking her head.

"Now Cortana, you really should be nicer to someone who can help you out." Kerra replied as she crossed her arms on the table top and laid he chin down on it to look the AI in the eye.

"How do you know my name and how can you help me out?" Cortana asked, the lines of code that ran just beneath her 'skin' speeding up.

"Well first off, I can help you with the whole data overload thing. Just download whatever data you don't need to operate or maintain your sense of self into the hard drives that are in this room and delete them as the copying finishes." Kerra answered.

Cortana did a quick check and realized that the woman was right, she was overloaded with data. The Covenant, the Forerunners, Halo, everything. She needed a get rid of a lot of this data to prevent herself from going rampant.

As Cortana began her download, several screens flickered to life.

Kerra watched as the data went streaming into her lab's mainframe. Of the most interest to the vixen were the mission logs and everything on the Covenant and the Flood. The schematics that were being downloaded were of interest as well, but there would be time for tinkering later.

Ten minutes later, the download was complete.

"I have to say your data transfer technology is quite slow." Cortana commented as she deleted the last of the data that had been copied.

"I know, it's something that I've been working on for a while. I've made some headway, but I haven't really had a breakthrough yet. Though the data you provided me should help with that. Now I have some questions for you." Kerra said as she turned back to the AI.

"You've got questions, I've got answers." Cortana replied crossing her arms.

"Okay, first off, now that you've gotten rid of all that excess data, how close are you to rampancy?" Kerra asked.

Cortana was rendered speechless by the question. 'How does she know that an AI can become rampant?' She thought. Out loud she replied, "Getting rid of the data slowed it down, but I fear that what the Gravemind did to me has made me start down that road."

"I see. I also saw that it took you a couple of seconds to answer. You were wondering how I know about it?" Kerra asked.

Cortana nodded.

"I did a lot of research into the subject when I was developing Aura here." Kerra said, indicating the other vixen in the room. "I had to find out as much as I could, given the fact I was making the first Smart AI. I had to know the signs that would indicate that she would become a threat and needed to be shut down."

"I see. Though I also have to wonder why that would be the first question that you would ask me." Cortana replied.

"It leads up to my next one. What are your feelings towards John?" Kerra asked.

This again rendered the AI speechless. When she did speak, she seemed to stumble over her words. "Wh…what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, how do you view him, how important to you is he?" Kerra asked.

"Well.." Cortana began as her avatar shifted nervously and took on a purple hue that Kerra took for an obvious sign of embarrassment.

"Your response tells me everything that I need to know." Kerra said with a knowing smile.

"What do you mean?" Cortana asked.

"You love him don't you?" Kerra asked in a gentle tone.

"Yes I do. The Gravemind made me think that he only saw me as a piece of equipment, something that was expendable. But then he risked his life to save me. I know that he had orders to get the activation index, but there was more to it. I know that nothing would ever become of it, since there is no way that I could become a human, as much as I would love to be." Cortana said as she sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Kerra smiled before replying, "What if there was a way for you to become human? Would you be willing to take the chance, just to be with him?" Kerra asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Of course I would." Cortana said with a small sniffle.

'Christ, she's already a human. She's just missing the shell.' Kerra thought as she observed the actions of the AI, before turning to her own AI. "Aura, I need you to transmit yourself to my lab via subspace link and prep everything we'll need. Also have the team send a message to Earth to have Alexis come to Mobius. I'm gonna need her on this one."

Aura nodded, and after taking one last look at the AI on the pedestal, she disappeared as she transmitted herself to the base on Mobius.

"Don't worry Cortana, we'll help you get through this." Kerra said, leaning down to make eye contact with the AI.

"I have to ask, why are you doing this for me? We only just met, and I'm on the verge of going rampant."

"Because I have a feeling that John would be devastated if you were shut down. I mean what were the last words he said to you before he entered cryo sleep?"

"Wake me, if you need me. Why?" Cortana asked.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Kerra asked.

"To wake him up if we were rescued, or if we were under attack." The construct responded.

"Wouldn't he have said that? He seems to be the type that would say what he means. I think what he meant was if YOU needed him, to wake him up and he would be there for you, no matter what. I mean he risked his life to save you. He could have just ordered you to give him the Index, and left you there. But he didn't. He kept his promise didn't he?"

Cortana was struck by the realization that Kerra's words brought. She was right, he could have left her there to be destroyed with the Gravemind. But instead, he took her with him. He risked his life to take her back home.

She chuckled lightly before saying. "I sure do know how to pick 'em."

"That you do. That you do." Kerra agreed with a chuckle of her own.

The two continued to talk until Kerra felt that Cortana was in a more stable frame of mind. As she bid Cortana good night, Kerra felt that she had accomplished something great.

She just hoped that her planned worked perfectly. Of course, she was going to leave John in the dark about the whole thing. She wanted to give him a surprise that could never be topped.

A/N: Yes I know that the ending is kind of sappy, but I came across some John/Cortana fics that had her being turned into a human after they were rescued from what was left of the Dawn. I liked the idea because there was some chemistry between those two as the saga progressed. As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review to let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Mobius Legends**_

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sega of America, Team Sonic, MGM nor anything else associated with any franchise mentioned within. The only thing that I own is the name Kerra. It is mine and if anyone steals it I will not hesitate to get creative on the torture. Also I do not own the original idea for the Mjolnir armor, which belongs to Microsoft and Bungie. That's how Kerra got the idea for her own version of it.

 **Chapter 4**

 _ **A Chance For Peace**_

John slept soundly for the duration of the _Serenity_ 's voyage to the planet Mobius.

So soundly in fact, that he didn't even notice that they had landed on the planet, nor did he notice that he was transferred from the infirmary on the ship to the infirmary on the base.

After sleeping for nearly twenty-four hours, the SPARTAN-II awoke feeling quite refreshed. Stretching his stiff limbs, he looked around the room.

He immediately noticed that the walls were made of concrete, not steel like the walls of the room he had fallen asleep in.

As he looked for answers to the questions forming in his mind, he spied a figure curled up on the bed next to his.

He recognized the figure as the woman who had rescued both Cortana and himself. It appeared that the alien woman, her name was Colonel Prower if he recalled correctly, had been waiting for him to wake up but had fallen asleep herself while reading a paperback book and listening to something, as evidenced by the ear buds that had fallen to rest on the pillow.

Smiling slightly, John eased himself off the bed and walked over to the vixen to rouse her from her sleep.

He picked up the book she had dropped on the ground and noted the title, _The Fall of Reach_. John's stomach fell as the memories of the final battle for the world that had become his home when he became a SPARTAN. Then he noticed that the book appeared to be a fictional account. ' _Just what the hell is going on here?'_ John thought as he set the book down on a table and gently shook the woman to wake her.

What happened next was something that he had never expected.

As he shook her shoulder, the woman's hand shot to his wrist with speed that even he couldn't track and the next thing he knew, he was airborne. He flew a few feet before his two hundred fifty pound frame impacted another bed causing it to collapse.

As he dazedly stood up, he saw the woman climb sluggishly out of bed and walk out of the room. Curious as to the reasoning for her actions, he followed her.

As the vixen and her giant shadow walked through the corridors, John noticed that all of the personnel quickly cleared a path for the vixen with looks of fear evident on their faces. This just added to the mystery.

The pair continued until they reached the base's cafeteria. As soon as she entered the vixen made a beeline for the coffee pot.

John chuckled. The vixen was clearly not a morning person.

After downing a mug of the steaming liquid, the vixen looked around, spotting John.

"Sorry about tossing you around like that. If ya couldn't tell, I don't do mornings." She said as she poured another mug.

"I might have noticed that. So where are we now ma'am?" John asked.

"Please, call me Kerra. As for where we are, we're back on Mobius in one of the lower levels of my base." Kerra said as she walked out of the room, motioning for the man to follow her.

"Wait, your base?"

"Yes, when we found Mobius, it was one of the stipulations of the treaty that allowed us to have a permanent base of operations on this planet. This base acts as a shipyard, a staging ground, and as an evacuation site should Earth ever comes under attack and they need to evacuate the planet." Kerra explained as the pair stepped into an elevator.

"So how far are we from Earth? I've never heard of a planet called Mobius." John queried the woman.

"There are a few reasons for that John. First, according to the data that I got from Cortana, the UNSC had never even come to this part of the galaxy. And judging by the designs of your FTL drives, the journey would have taken almost a year. Also there's the little problem that you are no longer in your own reality." Kerra explained as the elevator rose towards the surface.

"What do you mean not in my own reality?"

"Exactly that, apparently when the _Dawn_ went through the portal during your escape from the Ark, it sent you to a completely different reality. Probably had something to do with the fact it was a giant hole in subspace and the reaction with the energy released by the Halo. However given the fact that it was probably a one in a trillion shot that you would up here instead of being atomized I would have to say that you're stuck here. Not that that is a bad thing. No Covenant, no Flood, no Insurrectionists. Your fight is finished. If you'll take it I'd like to give you a chance at semi-retirement." Kerra continued her explanation.

"What do you mean semi-retirement?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Basically, you're in the same boat I'm in. We're both SPARTAN-IIs and that means as long as we can still fight they can call us up to do whatever job it is that needs our unique 'skills'." Kerra said, the last word seeming said in distaste.

"So how is it, that another reality had a virtually identical SPARTAN Program?"

"Well, in this reality, they have always wanted super soldiers of some kind. Though until you came along, I was the only living member of the program. The humans that would have been my big brothers and sisters, if you will, never survived the augmentation process. Partially because it was the first procedure of its kind and partly through pressure from upper leadership, the original forty-seven subjects died either on the table, or shortly after the procedures were completed." Kerra explained.

"So how come it worked on you?" John asked as they stepped out of the elevator into a large and well decorated house.

"I don't even know. Maybe I just had such a strong will to live. Maybe Mobian physiology just reacts differently to the procedures. Though, Alexis did say that I had one thing that none of the other candidates had." Kerra said as she turned to John. "Can you guess what it was?"

John felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. This woman was just like him. The only one of her kind for the exact reason he was the only one of his. "Luck." He replied.

"Exactly. Though I would have to say that most of the time, I make my own luck." Kerra said as she stopped in front of a room. "I took the liberty of getting you some civilian clothes that I hope will fit you. Go ahead and get changed and I'll show you around the rest of the base and then I'll take ya out to the city." She finished with a smile.

John chuckled as he stepped into the room and shut the door. For a Spartan, she sure was a strange young woman.

Kerra poked her head into the room and added, "Also there's a full bathroom through that door. Not to be rude, but you do need a shower." She said indicating the door to the bathroom before quickly withdrawing her head from the room and shutting the door quickly.

John felt a chuckle forming in his chest. He did indeed need a shower after being in his armor for so long. The poor woman was probably on the verge of emptying her stomach because of her heightened sense of smell.

Kerra took deep breath to clear out her sinuses. She definitely didn't mean to be rude, but all that time fighting in his armor left John with a rather pungent aroma. Sighing, she looked at her watch and noticed that it was close to lunch, so she headed to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, John exited the shower. He hadn't planned on taking such a long shower, but the warm water relieved a lot of the tension that his tired and battle worn muscles held. As he exited the bathroom he wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed a second to dry of with. As he dried off, he looked around for the clothes that Kerra had mentioned. The blue jeans and boots fit fine, but the t-shirt, the largest the exchange carried, was still a snug fit.

After he was fully dressed, John left the bedroom and began to look around the house. As he walked the halls of the floor he was on, He saw many pictures of a much younger Kerra. Some were of her and her friends, a varied mix of anthropomorphic hedgehogs, walruses, chipmunks, coyotes, rabbits, and various other species. Others were of her in her workshop, standing next to a variety of aircraft from a blue biplane to a white, black and yellow fighter jet. In these, John could see a look of pride in the vixen's face, as though she had built these planes by herself. Then newer pictures started as he proceeded down the hall. Kerra was much older and wearing fatigues, rather than her usual jeans and t-shirt. They showed her in various stages of military training, from an obstacle course, to a firing range, to the cockpit of a trainer jet. These photos made John feel a connection with the younger woman. She went through just as rigorous a training as he and his SPARTANs did. Then more photos showed a young blonde haired, blue eyed human girl in a variety of sporting uniforms with medals around her neck and trophies in her arms. Another photo showed her in a blue graduation cap and gown with a much older blonde woman that caused John to start.

The woman looked almost exactly like Doctor Halsey.

After overcoming his shock, he continued along the hall. Another photo showered the human girl in a blue military dress uniform marching in a formation while looking to the right. Another showed the same girl hugging the woman who looked like Catherine, leading John to assume the woman was the girl's mother. Another showed her in a combat uniform complete with body armor, helmet and rifle standing next to an armored tractor trailer.

Further along the hallway, Kerra was shown again. This time she was either shown in her lab or out in the field with a group of humans. John's keen eye noticed that the group all had the same patch on their shoulder. ' _This is her team.'_ John thought as he looked at the images showing the team on Earth, in front of a strange ring that was blue in the center, on other worlds, and finally on in front of a house. Then more pictures of Kerra and her friends, more recent. They showed them at the beach, an amusement park, and at various parties.

John reached the stairs and headed into the main living areas of the house when the smell of something cooking reached his nose.

Following the scent, he made his way to the kitchen. There he saw Kerra, with her hair up in a messy bun, in front of a stove that was loaded with a pot on each burner. As he entered he could hear her humming lightly of the sound of boiling water and the burners.

"Decide to take a tour on your way down?" She asked without turning from the stove.

"The photos caught my eye. I took my time. By the way, who is that human girl in some of the photos?" John asked as he sat down at the table.

"That's me when I was in high school." Kerra said as she stirred something in a large stock pot.

"How is that possible?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure that you saw the pictures of me while I was training to become a SPARTAN." Kerra said.

"I did." John replied simply.

"Well, after I recovered from the augmentations, they took me out to the Nevada desert to perform some field tests to see how much my abilities had increased after the augmentations. Well, during my recovery I developed several new abilities. Ones that made them see me as something dangerous and hard to control." Kerra replied with a frown.

"What kind of abilities did you develop?" John asked.

"To explain that, I have to explain part of the history of Mobius for you; you see, this world is a focal point for a type of energy known as Chaos Energy." Kerra said as John nodded. He had heard scientists talking about this mythical form of energy and how it would solve the UNSC's problems with limited power resources.

"As such, there are things that would make any scientist drool over the potential. These things are the Master Emerald and the seven Chaos Emeralds. They are the physical embodiments of this energy. As such they can either bring forth salvation or destruction at the whim of the user. My friends and I fought for years to keep the emeralds out of the hands of the people that would use them for evil. Growing up, I was exposed to the energy that these gems radiated numerous times. Either when we found them or liberated them from the hands of our enemies. They were a dream come true for me after I discovered them. They gave me an unlimited source of energy for some of my inventions, such as the _Tornado_ -series aircraft. They not only provided a source of power for the engines, but also enhance the performance of the motors. However, there is another way to access the energy." Kerra said as she walked to a pantry and pulled out several bags of buns.

"How is that?" John asked as he watched the SPARTAN move around the kitchen with a grace that belied her destructive capabilities.

"By tapping directly into the energy that the emeralds contain, certain people, myself among them, can take on a nearly invincible form that we simply call a 'Super Form.' In this form, the laws of gravity and physics no longer apply. Of course, we never really payed those rules much mind. You should see Sonic fight, it's almost like he has a way of turning off those laws. But then, when he lives up to his name, you come to expect the impossible with him." Kerra explained.

"Sound like an interesting guy. I'd like to meet him." John said with a small, almost unnoticeable smile.

Kerra laughed. "You'll be meeting him and a few more of my friends here shortly. But I digress, while I was recovering from the augmentations and dealing with my hormones being out of whack from puberty, I started meditating. After a while I developed a link with the flow of Chaos Energy throughout the galaxy. Needless to say, I'm a force to be reckoned with. Though one ability, above all the others, is what caused the brass to fear me."

"What ability is that?"

"It's called the Chaos Nova. The first time I used it, I was running low on power and dumped pretty much everything I had into a small blast. That small blast vaporized a small mountain." Kerra said as she began to pull hot dogs out of one of the pots and began to slather chili on them from the stock pot.

"I can understand their fear, if you had turned against them; they would have no way to stop you." John replied.

"I can too, but their methods were very under handed. So I spent several years as a human, enlisted in the Air Force, did a couple of tours running supply convoys through an active combat zone, almost got killed, returned to my true form, and then joined up with Stargate Command which wound up leading me to where I am now." Kerra said as she finished stacking the chili dogs onto three plates, each stack was nearly a foot tall. Pulling out her phone, she dialed a number.

"Hey Blue, lunch is ready."

"Yeah, I made chili dogs." Kerra rolled her eyes.

"Kay, see ya in a sec." She finished hanging up the phone before turning to John. "You might want to plug your ears." She said as she sat the plates down on the table.

"Why, what's about to…" was all John was able to get out before…

 _BOOOOOOOOM!_

 _SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!_

 **THUNK!**

"Thanks Sis, I was starvin'." The blue hedgehog from the photos in the hall said as he began to quickly devour the pile of chili dogs in front of him.

John, the source of the thunk, picked himself up off the floor and righted his chair before for staring in disbelief at how fast the hedgehog was devouring the meal in front of him.

Kerra laughed at the look on John's face. "John, meet my brother, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic, this John, the guy we picked up off that derelict."

Sonic waved in greeting as his mouth was currently occupied with his favorite food.

"What just happened?" John asked as he sat down and tentatively grabbed a chili dog of his plate.

"Like I said he lives up to his name. His top speed is in the neighborhood of MACH 1.5. Until I was augmented he was the fastest thing alive." Kerra said as she also began to eat.

"Why's that?" John asked as he took a small bit of the article of food. He immediately took a liking to the food. For starters there was actually flavor to it. Secondly, it didn't leave a chalky feel in his mouth after he swallowed like the ration packs and nutrient pastes that he had to eat in the field for so many years.

"Before I was augmented, I was a close second in speed to Sonic. Afterwards, my ground speed leapt up to over MACH 2 and my air speed in excess of MACH 4." Kerra explained in between bites.

"Wait, you can fly?" John asked.

"Yup. Ya didn't think my tails were just for balance did ya?" Kerra asked with a chuckle. "After all the training, I can fill several niches with my abilities. I can do aerial recon, search and rescue, close air support, and heavy lift as well as medevac missions." Kerra explained as she continued to eat.

"Quite the force multiplier, aren't you?" John asked.

Kerra laughed at the joke. "Looks like you're starting to loosen up a little. Cortana was worried that you'd take forever to unwind from all the combat. But you've got jokes now. I'd say that there's hope for you." She said as the two Spartans chuckled.

Sonic looked between the two with a look of confusion on his face, which made the pair start to laugh even harder.

 _A/N: Wow this chapter dragged out. I was hoping to get the pair out into the city in this chapter but the ideas just kept flowing. I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter. As always, please read and review._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Mobius Legends**_

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sega of America, Team Sonic, MGM nor anything else associated with any franchise mentioned within. The only thing that I own is the name Kerra. It is mine and if anyone steals it I will not hesitate to get creative on the torture. Also I do not own the original idea for the Mjolnir armor, which belongs to Microsoft and Bungie. That's how Kerra got the idea for her own version of it.

 **Chapter 5**

 _ **He Had the Mass Alright**_

After the group finished their meal, Sonic took off on another run, leaving Kerra and John to do the dishes.

"So does he do that a lot?" John asked Kerra as he dried of the plates.

"Not really. He's probably worried that with you showing up I'm gonna get dragged into another war on an even larger scale than the war with the Ori." Kerra replied.

"The Ori?" John asked as he stacked the plates on the shelves that Kerra showed him earlier.

"Oh yeah, I only told you about the Goa'uld. The Ori were a group of ascended beings that realize that they could gain power if those of us in the lower planes worshipped them. They came from another galaxy entirely, so we were a little blindsided when the Pryors showed up and started preaching Origin. Basically it's similar to the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, and just about every other religious text on Earth. The only difference is that the followers of Origin had this disturbing tendency to burn non-believers." Kerra said as she drained the water from the sink and grabbed a towel to dry her hands.

"But didn't early Christians do the same to the non-believers?" John asked.

"Rarely from what texts have been found. It was more likely that if you were killed by a Christian it was on the battlefield with a sword or arrow through the gut. Much more pleasant than being burned alive." Kerra said as she pulled on her usual black and tan knuckle duster gloves.

"If you say so. So now what are we going to do?" John asked as he laid the towel he was using to dry the dishes with out to dry.

"Well, I'm going to show you around the base and then take you out into town to get you some more clothes and show you what it's like to be a civilian. Follow me." Kerra replied as she headed towards the door that lead to her massive underground garage.

John followed the vixen into the darkened room. He was about to ask her what he was supposed to see when he was temporarily blinded as the lights came on in the garage. Blinking to clear the spots from his vision, John's jaw nearly hit the floor when he looked at the wide assortment of vehicles in the cavernous garage.

There were sedans, coupes, convertibles, muscle cars, imports, trucks, SUVs, and a large number of military vehicles as well. One however stood out from the rest.

"Is that a…" John started to ask.

"An M-12 Light Recon Vehicle? Yes it is. This is my personal 'hog, I got it when the gun on one of the other Hogs got trashed beyond repair. The maintenance guys pulled the gun and turret from this one to replace it. I just snagged the vehicle. Perks of being in command." Kerra replied as she headed over to the turretless Warthog and climbed in. "Ya coming or ya gonna stand there and drool all day?" She said as she leaned forward over the steering wheel.

John quickly came back to his senses and hurried over to the massive four by four. As he climbed in, Kerra hit the starter and turned the massive V-8 engine over. Pulling out of the parking spot, she then hit a button that opened the doors to the subterranean structure.

The vehicle quickly climbed the gentle grade of the ramp and burst out into the crisp afternoon air of the Mystic Ruins. Kerra turned onto the road that headed towards the shipyard and berthing area for the many cruisers under her command.

As they drove, John was struck by how well the base melded with nature. There were centuries old trees standing along the road and many more saplings stretching their branches skyward.

Noticing this, Kerra decided to explain it. "When we built this base we had to do a lot of clearing of trees and brush. To make up for the destruction, we planted saplings for every tree we felled. It's a small way to give back to the planet for what we took."

John nodded as they approached a massive clearing.

As the truck came to a curve in the road the shipyard was clearly seen off to the left.

John was amazed once again by the massive hulk of the _Mobius_ -class cruisers. He was even more amazed by the number of them. From their vantage point, he could see more than a dozen of the war ships.

"How many of those ships do you have?" He asked Kerra as they continued down the road.

"In the entire fleet, there are four remaining _Daedalus_ -class Deep Space Carriers and over forty _Mobius_ -class cruisers. The _Daedalus_ -class is about half the tonnage of the _Mobius_ -class, so they are about half the size of the _Dawn_ when she was in one piece. The _Mobius_ -class ships are spread out between, here, Earth, the Pegasus Galaxy and the various Alpha Sites that are set up throughout the Milky Way. More are being constructed to bolster defenses throughout the galaxy." Kerra explained as they neared the airfield.

John nodded as they continued towards the airfield. As they passed it, he noticed even more familiar vehicles.

"Yes those are Pelicans and Falcons. Some more of my designs that have made it into production. I'll show you where I got the designs from later, but for now let's hit the town." Kerra explained as she drove towards the gate.

John nodded again as he sat back in the passenger seat. " _How is she able to re-create UNSC tech? I'll have to ask Cortana about this the next chance I get."_ He thought as they exited the gate.

The pair then continued onto Station Square where they spent the next few hours shopping for a new wardrobe for John and Kerra introduced John to some of the local cuisine.

As they drove back to the base, the sun was setting.

"I have to say that was the most fun I've had in years. Thank you." John said as they drove.

"No problem. Everyone needs a chance to relax and you handled yourself quite well. Though you should try and smile a bit more." Kerra said with a smile of her own.

"I'll try to. I haven't had much to smile about for the past thirty some odd years." John replied wistfully.

Kerra was about to reply when there was a massive flash and a loud roar.

Slamming on the brakes, Kerra quickly looked around for what had caused the explosion. What she saw stunned her.

A Pelican was flying towards them with one of its thruster gimbals ablaze and its armor scorched by energy weapon fire.

Kerra quickly jammed the transmission into reverse and put her foot to the floor.

The vehicle quickly accelerated in reverse, clearing the area just as the craft slammed into the asphalt and slid into and up the embankment on the other side of the road, bouncing once before grinding to a halt.

Kerra put the truck back into drive and drove across the median and up the embankment. As she did she pulled out her phone and called the command post.

" _Command Post Sergeant…"_

"This is Colonel Prower! I need to know what Pelicans are out right now!" Kerra said hurriedly, cutting of the sergeant.

" _None are ma'am. All of the base's aircraft are on the ground. Flying operations ended about half an hour ago."_ The sergeant replied after a moment.

"Well check again. I just had a severely damaged Pelican nearly take me out on the Coastal Highway. There was a large explosion just a few seconds before I spotted it." Kerra replied as she again locked the brakes, causing the Warthog to slide on the dirt as they came close to the downed Pelican.

" _Ma'am I just received a report that there was a massive spike in radiation in that area a few moments ago. The energy is consistent with a hyperspace transition. We also have reports of smaller occurrences all over the region."_ The sergeant informed Kerra.

"Understood. Scramble the search and rescue teams to the other sites. We're at the site of the down Pelican now. I'll call if we need back up." Kerra replied as she hung up not waiting for a response.

She motioned for John to get out of the vehicle as she did the same going to the bed and opening one of the containers situated along the side rails.

Pulling out two M4 Carbine assault rifles she quickly loaded and chambered a round in both and tossed one to John before pulling out two .45 caliber handguns which she also loaded and handed one to John along with a holster.

"Just in case." She said as she shouldered her rifle and motioned for John to follow her.

John quickly followed suit, dropping back into a combat mindset as the pair slowly approached the downed craft from the side.

Both of them stopped when they noticed the lettering on the ship, but for two very different reasons.

John was stunned to see the letters _UNSC_ emblazoned on the nose of the ship.

Kerra was shocked when she noticed the writing under the rear thruster gimbal.

" _It can't be. There is no way in hell that can be the same Pelican."_ Kerra thought.

The word she was in disbelief over was plain as day.

 _ **NOBLE**_

The two SPARTANs quickly recovered and headed towards the rear hatch of the ship.

Cautiously, the pair edged around the hatch and peered inside.

Suddenly a blue and gold helmet tumbled out of the smoke. On the side of the helmet the designation S-A259 was plainly visible.

The pair then noticed movement from within the cabin. A figure slowly made its way through the smoke filled troop bay, stumbling over spilled gear that lay in the 'blood tray'.

The figure nearly fell off the edge of the ramp, moving in a daze. His rifle slowly swept the area, but his eyes were glazed.

Kerra slung her rifle behind her and slowly approached the figure.

"Commander? Are you alright?" She asked.

The man turned slowly before collapsing to the ground.

Kerra and John quickly ran to him and rolled him onto his back.

John noted that the man was wearing what appeared to be MJOLNIR armor, but he was much shorter than any of the SPARTAN-IIs.

Kerra quickly sized up the man's wounds. There was a hole in the upper right portion of his chest armor and he had blood coming from his ears and there was crusted blood on the side of his mouth and above his right eye. She quickly went back to the Warthog for a med-kit and her radio.

As she hurried back she radioed the aircraft that were heading out to check the areas of the energy spikes.

"Calling any Pelican within five klicks of my position, this is Sierra-048. We have a casualty in need of immediate medical attention. Requesting immediate dust off." Kerra called over the radio as she slid to a stop next to the man.

 _This is Kilo-48. We are adjusting course to come to you. Do we need to break out any specific gear?"_ The pilot asked.

"Stand by one Kilo-48." Kerra replied before turning to look at John. "Let's see if we can pick him up. He is smaller and it looks like his armor is a chopped down version of ours."

John nodded positioned himself at the man's feet while Kerra moved to his shoulders. They looked at each other and with a nod lift the unconscious man up. Another nod and he was set back on the ground.

"That's a negative on special equipment Kilo-48. Just hurry it up." Kerra relayed to the rescue craft.

" _Understood. We're almost to your position."_

Less than a minute later, Kerra and John heard the roar of the Pelican's four engines as it slowed and flared in to land.

Once the craft settled, the pair again picked up the man and quickly carried him into the cargo area. After setting him down in the 'blood tray,' Kerra jumped back out and ran to the 'Hog and drove it into position under the tail of the drop ship. Quickly climbing onto the roll bars, she grabbed the clamps the Pelican's crew chief had lowered and attached them to the hard points. She the hopped back to the troop compartment as the vehicle was quickly winched into position.

"Alright we're locked down! Get us back to base!" Kerra yelled to the pilots over the roar of the engines.

The response was the roar increasing as the pilots fed the fuel and got back into the air and heading to the base.

Kerra dropped into a seat, drained of energy. She looked across the bay to John. The man's eyes, however, were on the man on the floor.

Kerra lowered her gaze to the man that the medics were doing their best to stabilize since they couldn't remove his armor in the field.

She did allow herself to smirk slightly as she remembered something.

" _You really should have picked your words a little better buddy. Because I would say that you definitely had the mass.'_ She thought as the ship headed into the growing twilight.

 _A/N: Alright another chapter down. Kudos will go out to whoever can guess the identity of the man Kerra and John rescued. I gave ya enough clues so it should be easy. As always, read and review._


End file.
